Overcoming Obstacles (Week 4)

The most meaningful aspect of the course this week for me was defining my core values. While reading Launching Leaders, I started writing down and thinking about my core values before I knew about the assignment. However, when I looked over what I had written previously, they just didn't seem right. So I decided to use a principle taught in Tom Kelley's video, "Do What You Love". In it, he recommends sorting out what you were born to do, what you are good at, and what someone will pay you to do. I looked for answers to these categories in my patriarchal blessing. After thinking and praying, I discovered phrases and words that led me in a better direction. Goals are hard because sometimes I have so many at once that it becomes nebulous and progression seems to be too complicated. I believe though, that with these core values, I have a foundation that I can build goals on for a long time.

I decided upon:

1. Beneficent- An action of doing or producing good. Using my gifts to bless others.
2. Illuminated-illuminated from within by the light of the Savior
3. Humble- depending on the Lord
4. Scholarly-seeking and teaching knowledge and wisdom daily
5. Joyful-looking for and exposing the positive.

Now that I have these core values, I'm looking forward to setting long term goals, short term goals, and daily tasks based on them as Jim Ritchie suggested.

I also really loved the process of deconstructing my fears. I can see myself using and recommending this to others my whole life!

1. Describe the worst thing/fears that could possibly happen if you took a particular action.
2. Write down what you can do to avoid those things/fears
3. Make a list of how you could claw your way back to the status quo, should your worst-case scenario happen

After delving a little further into the topic, I also discovered this fabulous TED talk by Tim Ferriss that describes this process even further. Along with the steps above, he further recommends writing down what would be the benefits of partial success and also the cost of inaction.

 I loved Ferriss's thought that, "We suffer more often in imagination than in reality" by Seneca.